Time Fabric
by Haiku Kitten
Summary: An incident with a time machine forces Brainy to battle his demons. Crossover with Superman: Doomsday. SM/B5, IK/B5, SM/Lois Lane
1. Chapter 1

**Time Fabric**

Author: Haiku

Rating: M

Fandom: Animated Legion of Super-Heroes

Pairing(s): Superman/Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid/Brainiac 5, Superman/Lois Lane

Warnings: This story is rated M for future sexual content.

Author's Note: If you've seen Superman: Doomsday, or read the comic, you'll be fine. If you haven't seen it, you can watch it on your computer via Netflix, for those of you who have Netflix accounts, or you could probably find it on the net (I'm not sure) but I'll try to keep this from being too confusing. It focuses on Brainy and Lyle, rather than Superman and Lois, since Supes and Lois have already had this story told – so hopefully it should be easy for anyone to follow.

For me, this fic has a purpose. I love the Clark/Brainy pairing but it's one of those things that definitely couldn't last and I thought Brainy needed some closure. So basically, in this fic Brainy is going to learn to move on – to overcome what Brainiac did to him and to accept that Clark belongs in another time, with Lois. Hence the inclusion of Invisible Kid, who I did my best to pull into the animated universe believably. Hope you all enjoy!

**Time Fabric**

**Chapter One: Here We Are Again**

_Here we are again_

_Here where the darkness ends_

_I close my eyes and then_

_I see things as they were back when_

_We had our own closed-off universe_

_Closed time-like curves_

_Fly east around the world_

_**-Bruce Hornsby, Here We Are Again**_

It had been a long year of making it alone. Brainy liked to think that he'd managed quite well, despite all the setbacks and obstacles (depression, a soiled name, and desperately missing his friends). After a couple of months of unsuccessfully trying to get hired and being turned down everywhere he went simply for being Brainiac 5, he'd finally found himself a place at the Time Institute, where the Legion's own R.J. Brande had secured him a position. It was a good place for Brainy and he'd found a friend in fellow scientist Rond Vidar, who had helped him deal with both missing his teammates and battling his depression.

He'd made a life for himself – and that was why he felt confident enough to agree to return to the Legion for a short period of time to help them unravel the mystery of a piece of machinery they'd discovered floating in space. It was an opportunity to see them all again and it was also an opportunity to prove himself again and repay them for the trouble he'd caused before…

"It's so good to see you, Brainy. You have no idea how much we've missed you."

The smallest of smiles upturned the green skinned boy's lips and he turned his gaze to his shoes. "I'm sure you all managed, Saturn Girl," he replied as he followed her down the hallway. "Don't get too excited. Remember, I'm only here to help with this… machine… you found. Then I have to get back. I'll be missed at the Time Institute."

His blonde companion's smile turned sad but she nodded. "I… I understand," she said softly. "We all do. We're just glad to have you back for a while." She forced the sadness from her face as they paused in front of a door that Brainiac 5 was very familiar with. "Here's your old lab," she said as the door slid open to admit them in. "Well, I guess it's been confiscated from you by now but we figured you wouldn't mind."

"No sense letting it go to waste," Brainy replied with a shrug of his shoulders but he frowned slightly. This, after all, hadn't just been his lab. It had also been his personal room; his sanctuary. It was disconcerting to imagine other people using it in his absence. "I assume Shrinking Violet has made herself at home here."

"Well, yes, she has," Saturn Girl agreed. "But… there's someone you should probably meet." She pointed to where only a pair of black boots could be seen, poking out from underneath a large construction of some sort. "Brainiac 5, meet Invisible Kid."

The owner of the black boots suddenly yelped and scooted out from under the contraption. Brainy found himself staring at a brunet, brown eyed boy – whose face happened to be smudged black with grease. "Brainiac 5?!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet. He promptly thrust one grease covered hand towards him. "As in, the former owner of this fantastic laboratory?"

Hesitantly, Brainy reached out and grasped the boy's offered hand. "Yes, that would be me. It's good to meet you, Invisible Kid. I assume you've been using my lab alongside Shrinking Violet in my absence." He cast a critical eye at his surroundings. "… You seem to have kept it in pristine condition."

"Well, we try," Invisible Kid replied, reaching for a nearby towel to wipe off the grease. He offered it to Brainy, noticing that their handshake had gotten grease on the Coluan as well. "Wow, I can't believe I'm finally meeting you. You look so different from what I imagined. I thought you'd be…"

"A robot?" Brainy supplied as he took the towel and wiped away the grease. "Yes, I've been human since the… ordeal with my ancestor, Brainiac."

"I was going to say taller." Invisible Kid grinned and put a hand on his hip. "There are holo images of you around, of course, but you've been away from the Legion for a year, right? I guess I thought you'd probably grow some."

A blush darkened Brainy's cheeks at that. "Yes, well… it's hard to tell if my human form is likely to grow at the same rate as a normal human." Actually, he was rather caught off guard by the comment. He'd thought that he'd matured quite a bit in his absence but apparently his change wasn't as noticeable as he'd hoped. "I notice you and I are about the same height," he remarked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Invisible Kid agreed with a shrug of his shoulders. "Nice hair gel by the way, very 80's chic."

Again, Brainy blushed. "Nice uniform," he shot back, referring to the skintight black outfit and its large white lower case "i" on the chest. "The headband is an especially nice addition."

"Play nice, boys," Saturn Girl warned, glancing from one to the other. "Look, Invisible Kid, I need to meet with Cosmic Boy. Would you mind briefing Brainy about the machine?"

"Sure thing, Imra," the brunet said with a curt nod in her direction. "Don't worry about us, I'm sure ol' Brainy and I will get along great."

"Of course," Saturn Girl said sarcastically. "Have fun."

Brainy watched her leave mournfully. He could tell that he and Invisible Kid were not going to "hit it off," mostly because the other had already taken to using his nickname without his consent. "Brainy" was reserved for his very close friends and Invisible Kid had not yet qualified for that. "Alright, Invisible Kid, first things first," he said when Saturn Girl was gone. "What's your real name?"

"Lyle Norg, from Earth," the other boy replied easily. "No big secret there. And you're Querl Dox from Colu." When Brainy narrowed his eyes, Invisible Kid laughed. "Okay, so I'm a bit of a snoop. I know a lot of stuff I shouldn't. Let's just say I was really bored most of the time back on Earth. But listen, Brainy – I can call you that, right? – I'd like for us to be friends while you're here. So just pretend I didn't say anything about how short you are, or your Elvis Presley hair."

"Elvis Presley hair?" Brainy lifted a hand to his hair and patted it self-consciously.

Invisible Kid grinned again and then burst out laughing. "Man, I'm sorry; I really shouldn't pick on you like that. It's just that you're adorable when you get embarrassed."

"Uh…" Brainy felt himself blushing for a third time. What was with this kid? "Okay then, this machine."

"Aww, all work and no play?" Invisible Kid pretended to pout before gesturing to the huge contraption he'd been tinkering with earlier. "You're looking at it. I've been pouring over this thing for the last three weeks and I can't figure out what the sprock it is. I even got Vi to help me with it but no dice. They say you've got a twelfth level intelligence. I'm only tenth level, so I was hoping you'd be able to puzzle it out."

Brainy's jaw promptly dropped. "_You_ are tenth level?" he asked disbelievingly.

A smirk spread across Invisible Kid's face. "That's right. You know my ability? I can turn completely invisible." To demonstrate, he began to slowly fade out of sight. "I invented a serum for the ability and injected myself with it. Sure, the whole invisible thing is cool, but the real reason I was admitted into the Legion was because I can actually utilize this lab of yours. Even Shrinking Violet couldn't make heads or tails out of it."

"So you're what, my replacement?" Brainy questioned flatly, crossing his arms across his chest. "Just tell me what you actually do know about this thing, since you're so smart."

"Okay, okay, cool your jets," Invisible Kid replied, fading back into view. "From what I've gathered, it's a transportation device – maybe. When we put stuff in this compartment over here," he beckoned for Brainy to follow him around to the back of the machine, "it disappears. I'm assuming that stuff is either being transported to another location or being completely vaporized. I'd test it out on a person but that whole "vaporizing" possibility turns off most of my potential guinea pigs."

Brainy lifted his hand to his chin thoughtfully. The contraption reminded him a great deal of his time bubble, only cruder. "So… test it yourself."

"Umm… say what?" Invisible Kid's eyebrows shot up at the suggestion. "Like… get in that thing and risk vaporizing myself?"

"I doubt it vaporizes people," Brainy scoffed. "It's too elaborate to be something that simple – and you would have found some sort of residue left over, which I'm sure you checked for." He glanced at Invisible Kid with a smirk of his own. "Didn't you test your invisibility serum out on yourself?" The other boy nodded. "Alright then, let's give this thing a test run."

He reached to open the compartment but Invisible Kid suddenly grabbed his hand. "Hey, wait a minute!" the brunet objected. "This really isn't a good idea. We have no idea what this thing is capable of. We could end up stranded on the other side of the universe!"

"Unlikely." Brainy pulled his hand free of Invisible Kid's hold. "What's wrong, Invisible Kid – not willing to take the risk?"

Invisible Kid stared at him for a long moment. "… I can't believe I'm actually considering this," he said finally. "… Okay. I guess. I mean, you're Brainiac 5, I'm going to assume you know what you're talking about."

"Relax," Brainy replied, opening the compartment and climbing into it. He held out a hand to Invisible Kid to help him in. "What could go wrong?"

--

Clark Kent sighed as he entered his apartment. Another long day at the office and it was going to be a long night of pretending to pack for Afghanistan. Hopefully Lois would be in a better mood when he went to pick her up as Superman than she had been at work. Lately, she'd been more than a little distant with Clark, even though she showed no signs of wanting to break off her relationship with Superman. She knew who he was, he knew that. And he had a feeling that the problem was just that. She'd figured it out but he still hadn't given in and told her the truth. Honestly, he was still cleaning to the admittedly silly idea that telling her himself would somehow put her in further danger. Bruce was rubbing off on him, he supposed; he was being way too paranoid about this.

It wasn't just that, though. Part of him… didn't want to make it real. His relationship with Lois as Superman had always been an entirely separate thing from the friendship he had with her as Clark. He was used to this sort of fantasy romance they had, where he didn't really have to commit to anything and she didn't ask for more. It was terrible to feel that way, he knew, but he guessed even Kryptonian men had issues with commitment.

And so, despite the prospect of spending a lovely vacation at the fortress of solitude with Lois, Clark was very tired. He made his way to the kitchen with the intent to make himself a cup of coffee. He needed some caffeine right about now; coffee itself really didn't do anything for him but, having been raised in a society that firmly believed and preached its wondrous nature, just the idea of it tended to perk him up a bit.

He'd only just started the coffee maker when a loud crash suddenly echoed through the apartment – originating from his living room. Immediately on guard, he hurried to the kitchen doorway to look into the other room. He was, of course, expecting a monster or a villain or _something _of that nature. You couldn't live the life he did and not be constantly prepared for that sort of thing. However, that wasn't the sight that greeted him.

In fact, the source of the noise had actually crash landed on his coffee table and flipped the unfortunate piece of furniture up on its side, spilling and breaking everything that had been on it all over Clark's living room floor. In the midst of such destruction, Clark really should have been more surprised by the culprit.

"Brainy?" he questioned, noting the green teenager sprawled on top of another teen. "Are… you okay?"

Blearily, Brainiac 5 looked up at him and blinked. "…Clark?" His eyes suddenly widened and a grin spread across his face. "Clark!"

The teen beneath him grunted loudly. "Brainy, get the sprock off of me!" the boy demanded, shoving at Brainy. Brainy quickly moved off of him and stood, dusting his uniform.

"See, Invisible Kid, I told you it wouldn't strand us on the other side of the universe," the Coluan remarked, looking decidedly smug. "Quite the opposite! This is fantastic!"

"Invisible Kid" slowly pulled himself up off the ground and regarded Clark with a frown. "Okay, so we're in some guy's apartment and you apparently know him. Does this mean you know how to get us home too? Cause apparently our little dream machine didn't follow us here." He noticed Clark's television set then and his face lit up. "Oh, wow, talk about vintage," he remarked, walking over to it. He tapped the screen with one finger. "Ha, a glass screen! How cool is that!"

Clark felt more than a little lost, staring at the two boys. From what he could gather, they'd accidentally transported themselves here. Not surprising in the slightest, knowing Brainy's track record. Did that mean they were stranded?

"What year is it?" Brainy asked excitedly, grabbing up a newspaper from the floor. His eyes widened when he saw the date and he looked up at Clark in wonder. "Wow, you're old now," he commented. "Now that I think about it, you do look older."

Beside the TV, Invisible Kid froze. "Brainy… what do you mean "what year is it"?" the brunet demanded, putting his hands on his hips.

"Well, obviously, we were transported to the past!" Brainy exclaimed, gesturing to Clark. "Oh, right." He paused. "You've never met him. Invisible Kid, this is Clark Kent. Ahem, that is to say… this is Superman."

Invisible Kid's jaw dropped. "Grife, are you serious?!" he exclaimed. He stared at Clark in wonder. "H-Hi, Superman, m-my name's Lyle Norg." He held out his hand nervously. "Oh wow, oh wow. I can't believe I'm meeting Superman!"

"It's nice to meet you, Lyle," Clark replied with a smile as he shook the boy's hand.

"Nice to meet you?! It's fantastic to see you!" Brainy dropped the newspaper and launched himself at Clark, wrapping his arms around Clark's middle in a tight hug. "I can't believe that ridiculous machine brought us here! I've missed you!"

Clark couldn't help letting his smile grow into a grin as he returned the hug. It was, admittedly, very good to see Brainy again. He hadn't actually seen the Coluan since Brainy had left the Legion. For Brainy, that probably hadn't been more than a couple years but for Clark, it had been much longer. He'd decided against returning to the future after the fight with Brainiac, despite the fact that it would leave him in the dark about Brainy's progress. It just didn't feel quite right to be meddling in a time that wasn't his own.

He pulled back from the hug to look Brainy over. Brainy looked much the same as he had the last time Clark had seen him; a little older, perhaps, but not much. He'd obviously started using gel to slick his hair back. But most importantly, he looked healthy. The last time Clark had seen him, Brainy had been drained and unwell from his ordeal with Brainiac. Clark remembered thinking that it was going to take Brainy a lot of work to get things sorted out in his head. Obviously, he'd managed it.

"You look great," Clark said with a grin, ruffling Brainy's hair. "How is being human treating you?"

Brainy beamed at him in that way that he reserved solely for Clark that had made him feel truly superhuman when he was younger. "Really well! I've been working at the Time Institute, studying time traveling technology. The Legion asked me to help with a machine they found. Turns out it's a time travel device itself."

"You think?" Invisible Kid crossed his arms and regarded Brainy with disapproval. "Now, how do we get back? Gonna' build a new one out of Superman's coffee table?"

"Don't tempt me, Invisible Kid," Brainy replied blandly, far too distracted by his childhood friend to be bothered by the other boy. "So, Clark, how have you been?"

The phone began to ring before Clark could answer. He gave Brainy an apologetic smile and reached for it. "Hello?" he spoke into the receiver. "Oh, Lois. Umm, yeah, I'm almost ready to head to the airport. Some friends just stopped by. Oh, no, I'll hurry. Okay, thanks, Lois. Bye."

When he hung up the phone, Clark realized the two boys had been watching him intently.

"You're leaving for the airport?" Brainy asked, his face falling. "I… see." The Coluan looked around the apartment helplessly. "It's just that… we really don't have a way back."

Clark frowned at his two unexpected guests thoughtfully. "Well… it's not the airport I'm actually going to," he admitted. Lois was going to kill him for this but what else could he do? He certainly couldn't just leave them to run rampant. "You two have your flight rings, right? Come with me."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Time Fabric**

Author: Haiku

Rating: M

Fandom: Animated Legion of Super-Heroes

Pairing(s): Superman/Brainiac 5, Invisible Kid/Brainiac 5, Superman/Lois Lane

Warnings: Rated M for sexual content and Superman dying (sort of).

Author's Note: I had originally planned to write this entire story from Brainy's point of view, but as you may have noticed, last chapter Clark snuck himself in at the end. That made me think about it a little and I decided it might help develop Lyle's character a bit in this if I wrote the majority of this chapter from his point of view. Lois is also going to get some time in the spotlight later on.

Note that this story won't be updated regularly. I do plan to finish it, eventually, but it will probably take a while.

**Time Fabric**

**Chapter Two: The Hands of Time**

_Do you remember when we were just kids?_

_And cardboard boxes took us miles from what we would miss._

_Schoolyard conversations taken to heart_

_And laughter took the place of everything we knew we were not_

_I wanna break every clock, the hands of time will never move again_

_We could stay in this moment for the rest of our lives_

_**-Inevitable, Anberlin**_

"Grife, it's cold in here." Lyle stood shivering in the bathroom, wrapped up in a towel. It was absolutely freezing in this place! Fortress of Solitude, indeed; he could see why no one else ever came here. Man, Superman could really pick vacation spots. When he'd invited them along, Lyle had been expecting something with central heating.

The door to the bathroom opened and Brainy stepped in, taking his shirt off as he went. "So go put your clothes on," the Coluan replied simply. "If you're done with the shower, I'm going to take one myself."

Lyle watched Brainy out of the corner of his eye, taking in the exposed green skin. He really had to stop letting this cute green kid boss him around. Besides, with the way Brainy was acting, Lyle was starting to think that he'd have to compete with _Superman _to win Brainy's affection. Really, who could compete with Superman in _any _area?

He mentally slapped himself for thinking about it and stepped out of the bathroom to give Brainy some privacy. After all, he really shouldn't be looking at other guys. What would Condo think?

Oh, right. Condo wouldn't care because Condo had a new boyfriend.

Really, Lyle was a very well adjusted individual. He could take a hit and keep going – and he'd taken a lot of hits. That was why he'd gotten along so well with Condo. They'd both been through a lot of nass and they could understand each other. Even now, they were still technically friends. It wasn't that Lyle blamed Condo for leaving him – they'd tried to make a long distance relationship work after Lyle joined the Legion but it was just too much. Splitting up had been the right thing to do.

That didn't make it hurt any less. And yet here he was, freshly single, already flirting with a guy who was about a hundred times harder to deal with than Condo ever was and apparently had a gigantic crush on the Man of Steel.

"So, you and Superman, best of friends?" he called into the bathroom. Brainy poked his head out and looked at him curiously. Lyle shrugged. "I mean, you've known him a long time, right? You guys just seem really close."

A smile played on Brainy's lips. "Well, yes, Clark and I… grew up together, in a sense." Then he scowled. "Although to be honest, it feels like we're rather unwanted around here. I had no idea he was bringing that woman. He could have said something." The Coluan ducked back into the bathroom, clearly unhappy that Lois Lane had accompanied them to the Fortress.

"Well, what did you expect? I mean, we did just randomly fall on his coffee table unannounced," Lyle tried to reason. He could see where Superman was coming from. And also, if Superman had a love interest, it meant Lyle had a shot with Brainy. "He couldn't very well call his girlfriend and say 'sorry honey, my best friend from the future just wrecked my living room, can I take a rain check?' now could he?"

Instantly, Brainy's head popped out of the bathroom again. "What makes you say she's his girlfriend?"

"Are you kidding me?" Lyle arched an eyebrow in disbelief. "Brainy, they were coming out here alone. By themselves. You know, to spend some quality time."

Brainy's face scrunched up at that. "Thank you, Invisible Kid, for a mental image I did not need."

Such a virgin, Lyle thought to himself. Grife, Brainy had probably had this crush on Superman for years. Had he ever been in a relationship with anyone else? "What? It can't have been that bad. Lois is pretty hot. I can see why Superman likes her so much."

The bathroom door was promptly slammed shut. Lyle just rolled his eyes and dropped his towel. He'd just begun to step into his suit when the bathroom door was suddenly opened again. "Invisible Kid, I must say first that I think…"

They both froze. Lyle watched as Brainy's eyes slowly grew wider and wider. "I'm so sorry," the Coluan apologized, ducking back in. "I… I didn't realize…"

"Oh, relax, we're both men here," Lyle teased once he'd gotten over the immediate shock. After all, he had nothing to be ashamed of. Of course Brainy was embarrassed, though. Poor kid had probably never seen someone other than himself naked before. Nonetheless, Lyle hurried to pull his uniform the rest of the way on.

The sound of the shower being turned on answered him. He snickered softly to himself but then sobered. He wasn't going to win Brainy over by making fun of him so he really needed to watch himself. Brainy didn't seem like the kind of person who took teasing well.

* * *

Lois Lane wrapped herself up in a warm towel, wishing she'd insisted on a warmer lover's getaway, not for the first time. She was really getting tired of being dragged out here to the Fortress of Masculinity, or whatever it was called. Most of all, she was getting tired of only ever calling her lover "Superman" when she knew for a fact that his real name was Clark Kent.

Wrapping her hair in a second towel, she ventured out into the main room, where Superman stood pouring over an image on the large computer screen. As she stepped towards him, another figure floated up to him, coming to land gracefully beside the man of steel. Lois froze in her tracks and sighed deeply.

It was one of those boys; the green one. Clark refused to tell her who they really were, introducing them as Brainy and Invisible Kid – friends of his, he said. Lois thought they were a bit young to be friends of Clark but they were obviously superheroes of some sort – just not superheroes that she'd heard of before. Quite frankly, it only added to her frustration with Clark that he'd brought them along.

"Find the cure for cancer, Superman?" the kid asked, peering curiously at Superman's work. He looked up at Clark with an adoring expression that Lois attributed to hero worship – but it still bothered her a bit and she wasn't sure why.

Clark sighed. "I can design a machine that receives faint transmissions from the distant future, sculpt a miniature sun from dwarf star matter, but I can't find a way to keep human cells from metastasizing. … I wish I could help humankind by doing more than just being its resident strongman. One thing I've learned since arriving in Metropolis is that those in power don't always have the peoples' interests at heart."

The boy, Brainy, placed a hand on Clark's arm. "You're more than a strongman, Clark; you always have been. You and I both know that the good you do will live on for a long time to come." He smiled. "Luthor's a problem for you, no doubt, but I know you'll make the best of it."

Lois decided now was the best time to step in. "As much as I love dishing on evil, bald-headed freaks," she said as she approached them, drying her hair as she went, "I thought we came here to get away from it all." She pulled off the towel on her head. "Brainy, was it? I'm sorry to interrupt but would you mind giving Superman and me a moment? And could you take this with you?"

She held the towel out to the boy, who took it more out of surprise than anything. "U-Umm, well, I…"

"Superman, you wouldn't happen to have a hairdryer, would you?" Lois asked, turning her attention to her lover and giving him a smile.

He returned it with a fond smile of his own. "We'll have to get you a larger travel bag, Lois," he observed.

"I wouldn't need so many warm bathes if our weekend getaway was Palm Springs," she replied, brushing back her damp hair.

"The Antarctic camouflages Kryptonian crystal tech far better than cacti," he reminded her. "But next time you catch a chill, give a holler. I'll warm you."

The rest of the room faded out for Lois; only Clark mattered. "You wouldn't use your heat vision on me, would you, Superman?" she asked in mock fear, her eyes shining.

"No. Just the x-ray," he said in return, pulling her close.

She laughed softly. "You're bad," she accused, tilting her face to meet his lips as he leaned down to kiss her. Then she paused and pulled away, glancing behind her. Brainy still stood there, towel in hand, looking slightly shell-shocked. "Umm… maybe we could find a green alien free zone?" she questioned.

* * *

Lyle looked up when Brainy suddenly trudged back into the room, carrying a wet towel. "I thought you went to find Superman?" the brunet asked curiously. His efforts earned him a sharp glare from the young genius. "… Something happen, Brainy?" he asked worriedly, sitting up straighter.

"Of course not," Brainy replied coldly, moving past him to dump the towel in the bathroom with their other used towels. "I just got demoted to errand boy, is all. I don't like her."

"You don't like Ms. Lane?" Lyle asked for clarification. "She seems nice to me. Why don't you like her?" He knew why Brainy didn't like Lois but he wasn't going to say it out loud until Brainy admitted it himself. "Did she say something to you?"

"I was going to try and work on getting us home but I needed to ask Clark if I could borrow his crystal tech," Brainy replied, sounding annoyed. "And then she walked in and just sent me away – and wanted me to take her towel with me! And Clark just ignored it. Then it was _clear_ they wanted to be alone, even before _Ms. Lane_ said she wanted to find a green alien free zone."

Lyle winced. That _was_ pretty rough. "Well, we are intruding on their weekend plans," he tried to reason. "I'm sure she didn't mean to sound rude."

Apparently this didn't make Brainy feel any better because the Coluan huffed irately and spun on his heel again. "I'll be… out here. Somewhere," he grumbled as he left the room. "Trying to do something constructive with my time!"

"Like spying on Superman and his lady friend?" Lyle muttered to himself when he was certain Brainy was out of earshot. He picked up the book he'd been reading again. There was no sense in following Brainy when he was in a mood like this. Lyle knew when to play it safe.

* * *

"You know," Lois remarked from where she lay, curled at Superman's side. "I've been thinking." At his curious glance, she continued. "About Clark."

"Kent?" Superman questioned in surprise. "While you're snuggling with me?" He grinned at her playfully. "I think I'm jealous."

Lois wasn't in the mood for playing along this time, however. She scowled for a moment but let her face relax a moment later. "Smallville's going for assignment in a dangerous part of the world," she murmured.

"They say I'm brave," Superman replied with a knowing look, "but I'm bulletproof. Ordinary men and women who put their lives on the line – they're the real heroes."

"I just find it interesting that the more intimate you and I become, the more distant Clark becomes," Lois remarked, "literally." She sighed softly. "Superman, I want to know everything there is to know about you. Like who those friends of yours are that you brought here. Or maybe your real name?"

Superman just smiled at her patiently. "It's Kal-El," he replied easily.

She did not return his smile, only looked at him sternly. "Your _other _real name," she replied snappishly.

To her dismay, he pulled away from her and walked across the room, crossing his arms across his chest stubbornly. "Look, I know who you are!" Lois exclaimed in exasperation, getting up to follow him. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"Lois, I care about you more than anyone else on Earth," he said firmly, turning to her. "To reveal my secret identity would compromise your safety."

"Please," she growled in return. "My safety was compromised the moment I met you. How many times have you had to rescue me?" He opened his mouth to answer but she cut him off in annoyance. "Rhetorical," she said, waving a finger at him.

"I haven't told you my identity for the same reason why we haven't gone public with our relationship," Clark tried to reason with her, "why we come here to be alone."

"Well, try reading a gossip column," Lois replied stubbornly. "Practically all of Metropolis thinks we're dating anyway. You're clinging to keep one last part of you separate from us! And the only reason that I can fathom is that for an alien, you've developed a very human, very male, fear of commitment. We've been together for six months! It'd be nice if I could start calling you something other than Superman!"

In her irritation, she stormed off towards the door, passing a very surprised looking Brainy as she went. "He also goes by Kal-El," the alien offered, trying (or maybe not trying) to be helpful.

"Shut up," Lois snapped at him as she left.

* * *

Brainy looked to Clark in confusion. "Umm, I guess I interrupted a fight," he said quietly. His shoulders slumped when he saw the despondent look on Clark's face. "Are you… alright, Clark?" he asked. "She looked upset." Not that he really cared if Lois was upset; served her right for that comment about green aliens earlier.

"I don't know what to do, Brainy," Clark replied with a sigh, turning his gaze to the window. "She wants to know my real name. I'm not sure why I keep hiding it from her. I never used to be this paranoid about these sorts of things. Maybe she's right – maybe I am afraid of commitment."

To Brainy's horror, he realized that he was going to have to try and give relationship advice to his friend. It was, quite frankly, the last thing he wanted to do. He knew it wasn't fair of him to wish Lois was out of the picture – there was no way he and Clark could be together anyway – but that didn't mean he could help it.

"Well… maybe you are," he agreed, walking to Clark's side. "A lot of people are. Maybe she just doesn't realize that you actually do get scared sometimes. You've got a habit of seeming invulnerable, you know. People take it for granted."

Clark smiled down at him. "Lois has known me for a long time," he replied. "I've known her almost as long as I've known you. I think she's just getting impatient with me and I don't blame her. She really is too good for me."

"No one is too good for Superman," Brainy replied, sticking out his lower lip. "Maybe she just doesn't appreciate what she's got." He knew he'd kill to have what Lois had. It really wasn't fair that she wanted more when Brainy had nothing.

"Brainy, I don't know how you do it," Clark said, "but you can still make me feel better when I'm down." He placed a hand on Brainy's shoulder. Brainy looked up at him in surprise. "I really have missed you, Querl," the man of steel murmured.

"I've missed you too," Brainy replied, gazing up at Clark's eyes in fascination. "I guess when your best friend is Superman, he's hard to replace."

"Well, there's always Kel," Clark suggested, thinking about his clone from the future with an amused grin. "Sure you couldn't get along with him?"

Brainy rolled his eyes. "Ha! At least he stopped hating my guts," the Coluan replied. "There for a while he was such a nightmare. I guess I should be used to it by now but it… it still bothers me when people hear my name and automatically jump to conclusions about me. Although, I can't help wondering what I did in Kel's time to make him hate me so much." He lifted on hand and pressed it against the window pane, staring out at the night. "I keep telling myself that it won't happen now but I… I get scared about it sometimes."

"I never lost faith in you, Brainy, and I still haven't," Clark murmured. He moved his hand from Brainy's shoulder and placed it over Brainy's hand. "I know that you'll make the right decision. After all, you're the one who taught me how to be a hero in the first place."

Brainy ducked his head in embarrassment. "… No one had to teach you, Clark."

After a moment, Clark drew his hand away again. "So, tell me about this Lyle kid," he said curiously. "Have you known him for long?"

"I just met him today," Brainy replied. "Ah, well, not today, technically, but you understand what I mean. He's… sort of my replacement in the Legion, I guess. He has a level ten intelligence – or so he says."

"And?" Clark prompted.

"Uh… I guess he's okay?" Brainy shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't known him long enough to really decide whether I like him or not. I was feeling… jealous of him at first." He frowned. "And I think he was hitting on me back at the lab."

Superman laughed at that. "Well, he's got good taste," he offered. "I don't know, Brainy; you could do worse. He's nearly as smart as you are and if he likes you, wouldn't it be worth a shot? Too soon to tell, of course. Give it some time."

Brainy shifted uncomfortably. "I'm… not ready for something like that," he replied honestly. "Even if he is interested, I just…" Then his mind caught up with what Clark had just said. "You… think he has good taste?" His cheeks burned red with embarrassment.

A large, heavy hand ruffled his hair. "Of course I do," Clark said gently. "And for the record, I'm going to be picky about whoever you end up with."

"Thanks, Clark." It wasn't quite what Brainy wanted to hear, but it was better than nothing. "Oh, right. I came out here to ask you if I could use your crystal tech. Invisible Kid and I will have to figure out how to get home eventually."

"Help yourself," Clark replied. "I, uh… should probably try to make up with Lois."

The man of steel patted Brainy's shoulder as he left in search of the woman. Brainy sighed as he watched his friend go. He really hated seeing Clark upset.

* * *

Eventually, Clark found Lois staring out one of the huge glass windows distantly. He approached her sheepishly, knowing that she had every right to be mad at him. In a way, she and Brainy were both right. He was hiding things from Lois, and he was doing it because he was scared; scared of losing her and scared of committing himself to one person like that.

But Lois was everything he could have ever asked for in a lover, mate, and friend. She was smart, cunning, big-hearted, and completely willing to accept him as both Clark Kent and Superman – and those were qualities Clark had difficulty finding in this timeline. Being with Lois reminded him a lot of being in the Legion, where they all knew all of his identities, and knew how hard it was to be a hero and have a life at the same time.

Lois looked up when she heard him approach, her expression solemn.

"Well, that was some first fight," he commented out loud.

"Be nice if it was our last," she replied. And Clark knew she'd forgiven him. She always did.

He reached out and took her face in his hands, leaning in for a kiss. When they broke apart again, they were both smiling.

"Maybe you're right," Clark murmured. "Maybe it is time you got to know the real me."

And their perfect moment, so many times interrupted over the course of their relationship, was interrupted once again.

"Uh, Superman."

Clark looked over at Brainy and sighed. "This isn't a good time," he warned his friend.

"You're needed in Metropolis," Brainy explained. The look on his face was grim. "I wouldn't interrupt otherwise, but I think it's urgent."

Figures, Clark thought.

As they followed Brainy to the main computer, after Lois and Clark had dressed in more appropriate clothing than their bathrobes, Brainy explained what he'd found.

"I have isolated a match via interstellar records from your father's archives," the Coluan explained. Clark hadn't realized Brainy would be able to access Jor-El's archives, but for some reason it didn't surprise him.

The computer screen showed a hulking monster, wreaking havoc on Metropolis.

"The subject in question was biologically engineered to be the ultimate soldier," Brainy explained, "precise, clinical, unstoppable. But its creators came to realize that it couldn't distinguish between friend and foe. Thus this "doomsday" machine lives to extinguish any and all life forms – because it must."

"I have to go," Clark said simply, turning on his heel. He scooped Lois up in his arms. "That thing has to be stopped."

TBC


End file.
